May This Place Be a Blessing to You

That was the note that one of the residents gave to me on my first day of work as a server at Amethyst Gardens Senior Living. Many weeks went by and I went through the routine of work. On my first time as a room service runner, I happened to be walking down a hallway that ended up being my blessing in disguise. As I walked down the hall, I passed a room. The plaque on the wall caught my eye. It had the old OA logo and a picture of a man. It read “Harvey Hardon, 1990 Lodge Advisor for the Wipala Wiki Lodge.” Right next to the plaque was various awards all the way back from when we were called the Theodore Roosevelt Council.

I knocked on the door and was met by Harvey. I introduced myself and we ended up talking for about an hour. He shared with me some of his stories and I told him about everything I was doing as an Arrowman. He then told me that he had a gift for me, something that only I would be able to appreciate. He ended up giving me his custom made 1990, 75th-anniversary NOAC (National Order of the Arrow Conference) hat. It was by far the most amazing experience that I had ever had. I was about to leave Harvey’s room when he asked me to stay with him because he wanted me to wait with him before he had to leave. When I asked him where he was going, he informed me that he had pneumonia and had to go to the hospital. I waited with him until his family arrived and then watched them take him to the hospital.

That was the first and last day I ever saw Harvey. I met him at the beginning of December, and now it is almost the end of January and I still haven’t seen him since that night. I go to his room every once and a while but nobody ever answers the door. Harvey was the blessing that was promised to me on my first day of work, and I will never forget meeting such an amazing man.